Abstract
Mining has undergone notable shifts in governance, largely aimed at improving the environmental and social performance of the sector. These shifts have broadened the range of governing actors, with civil society and local communities now regularly sharing governing duties with the state. This phenomenon has led to the rising concept of social license to operate (SLO), which sees local communities deeply involved in the decision-making process in the extractive sector. This research aims to analyze how this concept is being significantly strengthened to the point of considering local communities as a legal entity and the SLO as a legal instrument with which mining companies can enter into legally binding agreements. As a matter of fact, the interest of this research is mainly focused on the different levels which have contributed to its evolution so far: the international and national legal developments and the investment arbitration practice. The obvious conclusion is that the SLO development is just started, and its importance in legal terms will constantly increase. This is mainly because of its close link to issues of social and energy justice. Ignoring the SLO means ignoring the energy justice needs in a society moving toward the energy transition.
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Pepe, L.M. (2022). The Social License to Operate Toward a Just Transition. In: Wood, G., Mete, G., Górski, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Social License to Operate and Energy Transitions. Palgrave Studies in Energy Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74725-1_4-1
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The Social License to Operate Toward a Just Transition- Published:
- 24 March 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74725-1_4-2
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The Social License to Operate Toward a Just Transition- Published:
- 02 June 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74725-1_4-1